I used this final team to dominate my local tourney (which is using VGC-type rules). This team works on the basis that:
1. We get to see each other's teams beforehand, so we know the actual levels of the Pokemon as well as the full roster the opponent brought. We don't get to see moves or items though.
2. You can bring 6 Pokemon and choose four after looking at your opponent's roster.
And without further ado I present my team:
Groudon @ Sitrus Berry
112 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def / 136 Spe
Adamant
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
An unholy cross between SD Groudon and the RP Groudon EVs, this Groudon takes hits pretty well and has Sitrus to cover for heavier hits. Its monstrous 140 Base Attack means that it can dish out the damage regardless of Swords Dance, with a choice of the utterly destructive Earthquake or the really painful Stone Edge. Its one weakness is its lack of Speed, leading to it being Ice Beamed. But anything with Ice Beam doesn't live for long usually, because...
Charizard @ Choice Specs
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid
- Heat Wave
- Dragon Pulse
- Solarbeam
- Focus Blast
Charizard pairs ridiculously well with Groudon. While Charizard fires off obscenely powerful Heat Waves, any Flash Fire Pokemon get destroyed by Earthquake. Solarbeam is for when I need to rapidly blast Water Pokemon left and right, and Dragon Pulse rips Palkia a new one. Focus Blast is basically filler though. As a bonus, Blaze-boosted Specs Heat Wave in Sun will cause your opponent to cower in fear as all their Pokemon get slaughtered.
Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Solarbeam
- Focus Blast
Typhlosion attacks just like Charizard, just from a different angle. Scarf Eruption hurts like crazy, while later on in the match, I can always pull a Blaze-boosted Heat Wave. Typhlosion is the perfect counter for Chlorophyll teams, outspeeding and murdering everything with Eruption provided Groudon doesn't appear, as well as allowing me to do double Blaze-boosted Heat Wave, killing pretty much anything that dares to be out at the time.
Exeggutor @ Life Orb
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild
- Solarbeam
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
Exeggutor gets rid of Pokemon that are annoying to my team either by shutting them down with Sleep Powder and just plain exploding on them. It also can utilise the sun to full potential, firing Solarbeam after Solarbeam on its blistering speed. Psychic is kind of useless, but there's nothing much that can fill it properly considering I don't know how to get specific Hidden Powers in-game.
Electrode @ Expert Belt
100 Atk / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Hasty
- Explosion
- Thunder
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Electrode is really useful. Taunt prevents TR from happening, while Sucker Punch ensures that Smeargle will always use its Sash. Explosion is self-explanatory, and Thunder allows Electrode to destroy Rain teams with lots of Thunders. This is pretty much my answer to Rain teams if I don't feel like risking that Groudon is slower, since I'm looking for a sweep. This actually pairs well with my last Pokemon...
Dusknoir @ Leftovers
252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpDef
Calm
- Protect
- Imprison
- Trick Room
- Taunt
And this rounds up the team nicely. The set looks extreme, because it is. My ultimate answer to TR teams, as I send this out first and immediately Imprison, destroying TR even if the opponent uses Follow Me. Protect makes this Dusknoir near-unkillable as it can attempt to repeatedly Protect to stall out its lifespan while I lay in the hurt with huge amounts of Fire-power (pun intended). Imprisoning Taunt is also a bonus, because it prevents Dusknoir from being neutered and forced to Struggle, and it also allows me to perfectly counter a particular Dusknoir + Lv.1 Smeargle combo that always gets either TR up or Dark Voids to sleep both opposing mon. Also beats Slow Kyogre and TR leads when paired with Electrode so Electrode masses Thunder while Dusknoir sits there and keeps Trick Room locked away, and best of all since Protect is on Dusknoir, when Electrode needs to go down it goes with a bang without fear of Protect.
The point is with this team is that you can see your opponent's team so you roughly know the strategy that he's going to use and send accordingly, and it takes full advantage of that. Ordinarily Charizard and Groudon go out, but for things like bringing down Trick Room + Rain teams I'd send Dusknoir and Electrode to slaughter everything in sight.
Problems I've faced:
Palkia and Kingdra. They 4x resist Fire so I need Blaze-boosted Specs Heat Wave to scratch them. Sometimes they use Rain Dance, messing my set-up. They can be solved by Explosion, provided that Sun is up and Exeggutor gets in safely. Charizard can nail them with Dragon Pulse, but usually it's already locked into Heat Wave, so I end up in trouble.
Giratina is a bit troublesome, since it's tanky and resists Fire.
Kyogre is irritating if my opponent keeps switching it out, which means I have to withdraw Groudon as well so I can get Sun up later. In Sun I can easily mass Solarbeam it to bits, so it's not really an actual threat unless I somehow let Rain stay around so it can destroy me.
Shuca Berry Heatran is potentially a problem if it Fire Blasts my Groudon for a KO. Explosion is also irritating since Groudon is the only thing with Protect, but generally I can revenge kill with Focus Blast, though sacrificing my coverage for the match.
Thoughts?
1. We get to see each other's teams beforehand, so we know the actual levels of the Pokemon as well as the full roster the opponent brought. We don't get to see moves or items though.
2. You can bring 6 Pokemon and choose four after looking at your opponent's roster.
And without further ado I present my team:
Groudon @ Sitrus Berry
112 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def / 136 Spe
Adamant
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
An unholy cross between SD Groudon and the RP Groudon EVs, this Groudon takes hits pretty well and has Sitrus to cover for heavier hits. Its monstrous 140 Base Attack means that it can dish out the damage regardless of Swords Dance, with a choice of the utterly destructive Earthquake or the really painful Stone Edge. Its one weakness is its lack of Speed, leading to it being Ice Beamed. But anything with Ice Beam doesn't live for long usually, because...
Charizard @ Choice Specs
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid
- Heat Wave
- Dragon Pulse
- Solarbeam
- Focus Blast
Charizard pairs ridiculously well with Groudon. While Charizard fires off obscenely powerful Heat Waves, any Flash Fire Pokemon get destroyed by Earthquake. Solarbeam is for when I need to rapidly blast Water Pokemon left and right, and Dragon Pulse rips Palkia a new one. Focus Blast is basically filler though. As a bonus, Blaze-boosted Specs Heat Wave in Sun will cause your opponent to cower in fear as all their Pokemon get slaughtered.
Typhlosion @ Choice Scarf
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest
- Eruption
- Heat Wave
- Solarbeam
- Focus Blast
Typhlosion attacks just like Charizard, just from a different angle. Scarf Eruption hurts like crazy, while later on in the match, I can always pull a Blaze-boosted Heat Wave. Typhlosion is the perfect counter for Chlorophyll teams, outspeeding and murdering everything with Eruption provided Groudon doesn't appear, as well as allowing me to do double Blaze-boosted Heat Wave, killing pretty much anything that dares to be out at the time.
Exeggutor @ Life Orb
4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Mild
- Solarbeam
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
Exeggutor gets rid of Pokemon that are annoying to my team either by shutting them down with Sleep Powder and just plain exploding on them. It also can utilise the sun to full potential, firing Solarbeam after Solarbeam on its blistering speed. Psychic is kind of useless, but there's nothing much that can fill it properly considering I don't know how to get specific Hidden Powers in-game.
Electrode @ Expert Belt
100 Atk / 252 SpA / 152 Spe
Hasty
- Explosion
- Thunder
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
Electrode is really useful. Taunt prevents TR from happening, while Sucker Punch ensures that Smeargle will always use its Sash. Explosion is self-explanatory, and Thunder allows Electrode to destroy Rain teams with lots of Thunders. This is pretty much my answer to Rain teams if I don't feel like risking that Groudon is slower, since I'm looking for a sweep. This actually pairs well with my last Pokemon...
Dusknoir @ Leftovers
252 HP / 128 Def / 128 SpDef
Calm
- Protect
- Imprison
- Trick Room
- Taunt
And this rounds up the team nicely. The set looks extreme, because it is. My ultimate answer to TR teams, as I send this out first and immediately Imprison, destroying TR even if the opponent uses Follow Me. Protect makes this Dusknoir near-unkillable as it can attempt to repeatedly Protect to stall out its lifespan while I lay in the hurt with huge amounts of Fire-power (pun intended). Imprisoning Taunt is also a bonus, because it prevents Dusknoir from being neutered and forced to Struggle, and it also allows me to perfectly counter a particular Dusknoir + Lv.1 Smeargle combo that always gets either TR up or Dark Voids to sleep both opposing mon. Also beats Slow Kyogre and TR leads when paired with Electrode so Electrode masses Thunder while Dusknoir sits there and keeps Trick Room locked away, and best of all since Protect is on Dusknoir, when Electrode needs to go down it goes with a bang without fear of Protect.
The point is with this team is that you can see your opponent's team so you roughly know the strategy that he's going to use and send accordingly, and it takes full advantage of that. Ordinarily Charizard and Groudon go out, but for things like bringing down Trick Room + Rain teams I'd send Dusknoir and Electrode to slaughter everything in sight.
Problems I've faced:
Palkia and Kingdra. They 4x resist Fire so I need Blaze-boosted Specs Heat Wave to scratch them. Sometimes they use Rain Dance, messing my set-up. They can be solved by Explosion, provided that Sun is up and Exeggutor gets in safely. Charizard can nail them with Dragon Pulse, but usually it's already locked into Heat Wave, so I end up in trouble.
Giratina is a bit troublesome, since it's tanky and resists Fire.
Kyogre is irritating if my opponent keeps switching it out, which means I have to withdraw Groudon as well so I can get Sun up later. In Sun I can easily mass Solarbeam it to bits, so it's not really an actual threat unless I somehow let Rain stay around so it can destroy me.
Shuca Berry Heatran is potentially a problem if it Fire Blasts my Groudon for a KO. Explosion is also irritating since Groudon is the only thing with Protect, but generally I can revenge kill with Focus Blast, though sacrificing my coverage for the match.
Thoughts?
